Chapter 184: Chapter 143: Mixing This Kind of Poison Into the Elixir, Xiao Chen, What Are Your Intentions

"Master Xiao, this is the mission from the Lingyuan Sect."

"Huh? Shouldn’t they have given us a complete Pill Formula? Why is it just a fragment?"

A fragmented formula was an incomplete Pill Formula, utterly useless until restored.

"Sigh. This time is different."

The old man sighed and explained, "I hear that during Magical Combat on the front lines, the Lingyuan Sect’s disciples have suffered greatly."

"The Qi Refining Stage disciples, in particular, have taken devastating losses. The casualty gap between the two sides is immense."

"According to the Lingyuan Sect’s investigation, it’s because the Divine Fire Sect disciples have all been taking large quantities of an Elixir called the Iron Bone Pill."

"Many Demon Dao Qi Refining Cultivators have used it to survive the aftershocks of clashes between Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

The Iron Bone Pill?

Xiao Chen found the name familiar, as if he had seen the Pill Formula somewhere before.

The two of them arrived on the fourth floor of the Pill Hall, where there was an Alchemy Room specially designated for studying fragmented formulas.

Inside, many Alchemists were already present. Seeing Xiao Chen enter, they all rose to their feet to welcome him.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Master Xiao!"

A strange, passive-aggressive voice called out. It was Jiang Shize; he was here too.

Xiao Chen couldn’t be bothered with him and walked directly to the table. "So this is the fragmented formula for the Iron Bone Pill?"

He looked at the dozens of Spirit Grasses already deduced and laid out on the tabletop, and they seemed even more familiar.

Then it hit him—he had confiscated an Iron Bone Pill Formula from a Body Cultivator in Jingchuan County.

Most of the Spirit Grasses in it were quite similar to the ones from the fragmented formula before him.

Only a few of the more crucial ingredients didn’t match.

"Master Xiao, we’ve checked it carefully many times, but there’s one question we still can’t figure out."

"How did the enemy manage to achieve such a powerful Body Forging effect while also mass-producing this Elixir at a low cost?"

An Honored Guest Elder took the lead in asking, and the others all nodded in agreement.

They had actually done an impressive job. Working from the Iron Bone Pill samples provided by the Lingyuan Sect, they had reverse-engineered most of the Spirit Grasses involved.

They had nearly restored the Iron Bone Pill’s formula.

Unfortunately, as Orthodox Cultivators, their thinking was somewhat constrained.

Xiao Chen picked up the brush pen from the table and, with a few quick strokes, wrote down a Spiritual Material: Red Glue.

"What if you replaced this with this?"

Everyone looked down, and their expressions instantly changed. They exchanged glances, seemingly unable to believe their eyes.

Red Glue is toxic. A piece merely the size of a date pit is enough to poison a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator to death.

Some furrowed their brows, some had a flicker of doubt in their eyes, and others simply shook their heads.

An elderly Alchemist stammered, "Oh, my... this, this is..."

Another Alchemist’s voice held a trace of hesitation. "This... isn’t this a bit ill-advised?"

Due to Xiao Chen’s established prestige, although the crowd had their doubts, they all hesitated, not daring to voice their opinions rashly.

On one hand, they felt that Xiao Chen’s attainments in Alchemy were profound, so perhaps his suggestion had its own unique merits.

After all, throughout history, many Pill Formulas have used poison to counteract poison.

On the other hand, they felt this approach was too risky. And from the looks of it, there didn’t seem to be any Spirit Grass that could suppress the toxin.

.

Jiang Shize, however, had no such reservations.

He stepped forward without hesitation and immediately began to lambast him, "That’s complete and utter nonsense!"

"Red Glue can indeed produce a better Body Forging effect, but its toxicity is too high! Once it’s refined into the Elixir, it becomes a deadly poison instead."

"To complete a fragmented formula, you’d mix such a poison into an Elixir? Xiao Chen, what are your real intentions!?"

Ever since Xiao Chen had snatched away the Blood Piercing Pill mission last time, Jiang Shize had been nursing a grudge against him.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t found a suitable opportunity to get back at him since.

Now that he saw Xiao Chen actually suggest adding Red Glue to a Pill Formula, Jiang Shize eagerly jumped at the chance, righteously condemning him in a loud voice.

"I admit you have some talent when it comes to Alchemy."

"But the path of Alchemy, like that of a Physician, requires a benevolent heart."

"If you resort to any means necessary just for efficacy, then you are straying onto the Demon Dao! How is such an act any different from that of a Demon Cultivator?"

His voice grew higher and higher, and he was clearly very agitated.

Hearing Jiang Shize’s words, most of the crowd nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with his point of view internally.

Xiao Chen shook his head gently. "First of all, the Iron Bone Pill *is* a Demon Dao Elixir."

"Did the Lingyuan Sect not tell you that this is an Elixir they confiscated from the Demon Cultivators of the Divine Fire Sect?"

His question left the surrounding crowd stunned for a moment.

An old man frowned. "What you say isn’t wrong in itself. Since it’s a Demon Sect Elixir, it’s normal for it to have some side effects."

"But we are not members of the Demon Sect. Since we know there’s a problem with the Pill Formula they use, we should be the ones to correct it."

Jiang Shize immediately chimed in, "Right, right, that’s exactly what I mean."

"Regardless of whether there’s a problem with the Divine Fire Sect’s Pill Formula, Xiao Chen, your way of thinking is the real problem here."

After he said that, a trace of doubt arose in the hearts of the nearby crowd.

One after another, two or three people also began to voice their agreement with Jiang Shize.

A relatively young Alchemist declared, "Jiang has a point. As Alchemists of the Righteous Dao, we should have basic integrity."

Another voice chimed in, this one tinged with indignation. "That’s right! There are some things the Demon Cultivators of the Divine Fire Sect can do that we cannot!"

The old man from before also commented, "Actually, Xiao Chen’s idea is quite good."